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英国 United Kingdom 爱尔兰 Ireland 比利时 Belgium 荷兰 Netherlands 法国 France 西班牙 Spain 葡萄牙 Portugal 意大利 Italy 希腊 Greece 奥地利 Austria 匈牙利 Hungary 德国 Germany 瑞士 Switzerland 罗马尼亚 Romania 俄罗斯 Russia 波兰 Poland 克罗地亚 Croatia (Hrvatska) 捷克 Czech 芬兰 Finland 瑞典 Sweden 挪威 Norway 冰岛 Iceland 土耳其 Turkey 丹麦 Denmark 阿尔巴尼亚 Albania 爱沙尼亚 Republic of Estonia 安道尔 Andorra 白俄罗斯 Belarus 保加利亚 The Republic of Bulgaria 波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那 Bosnia and Herzegovina 梵蒂冈 Vatican City State (Holy See) 黑山 The Republic of Montenegro 拉脱维亚 Latvia 立陶宛 Republic of Lithuania 列支敦士登 Liechtenstein 卢森堡 Luxembourg 马耳他 Republic of Malta 马其顿 The Republic of Macedonia 摩尔多瓦 The Republic of Moldova 摩纳哥 Monaco 塞尔维亚 the Republic of Serbia 斯洛伐克 The Slovak Republic 斯洛文尼亚 the Republic of Slovenia 圣马力诺 San Marino 乌克兰 Ukraine | ||||
bǐ lì shí Belgium
shǒudōu:bù lǔ sài 'ěr guógūdàimǎ: be
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guó míng： bǐ lì shí wáng guó (TheKingdomofBelgium， LeRoyaumedeBelgique) dài mǎ BE
dú lì rì： １ ０ yuè ４ rì（１ ８ ３０ nián） guó qìng rì： ７ yuè ２１ rì（１８３１ nián qián guó wáng lì 'ào bō dé yī shì dēng jī rì） guó qí： chéng cháng fāng xíng， cháng yǔ kuān zhī bǐ wéi１ ５ ∶１３。 qí miàn cóng zuǒ dào yòu yóu hēi、 huáng、 hóng sān gè píng xíng xiāng děng de shù cháng fāng xíng xiāng lián gòu chéng。 hēi sè shì zhuāng zhòng 'ér jù yòu jì niàn yì yì de sè cǎi， biǎo shì dào niàn zài１８３０ nián dú lì zhàn zhēng zhōng xī shēng de yīng xióng； huáng sè xiàng zhēng guó jiā de cái fù hé xùmù yè yǔ nóng yè de fēng shōu； hóng sè xiàng zhēng 'ài guó zhě de shēng mìng hé rè xuè， hái xiàng zhēng dú lì zhàn zhēng qǔ dé de wěi dà shèng lì。 bǐ lì shí shì shì xí jūn zhù lì xiàn zhì guó jiā。 guó wáng chéng zuò de qì chē xuán guà wáng qí， wáng qí yǔ guó qí bù tóng， wéi sì fāng xíng， qí dì jìn sì kā fēi sè， qí zhōng jiān yòu bǐ lì shí guó huī， qí dì sì jiǎo chù gè yòu yī dǐng wáng guān hé zài wèi guó wáng míng zì de dì yī gè zì mǔ。 guó huī： wéi dǒu péng shì。 zhěng gè tú 'àn zhōng xīn wéi dùn miàn shàng yī zhǐ zhí lì de shī zǐ， qí hòu wéi jiāo chā de jūn wáng jié zhàng， xiàng zhēng wáng quán。 dùn xíng tú 'àn yóu lì 'ào bō dé xūn zhāng shì dài huán rào， liǎng cè gè yòu yī zhǐ jǔ zhe guó qí de shī zǐ， shàng duān wéi yī dǐng wáng guān， shì huán zhī xià xuán guà zhe yī méi lì 'ào bō dé（ bǐ lì shí dì yī dài jūn zhù） xūn zhāng， dǐ bù de shì dài shàng xiě zhe “ tuán jié jiù shì lì liàng ”。 dǒu péng shàng duān zhuāng shì zhe wáng guān hé dài biǎo bǐ lì shí jiǔ gè shěng de jiǔ miàn qí zhì。 guó gē：《 bù wèi bān rén zhī gē》 guó huā： yú měi rén guó niǎo： hóng sǔn guó jiā zhèng yào： guó wáng 'ā 'ěr bèi 'èr shì (AlbertII)，１ ９９３ nián８ yuè９ rì dēng jī； shǒuxiàng lāi tè mǔ，２００８ nián３ yuè rèn zhí。 guān fāng yǔ yán： hé lán yǔ（ 1980 nián hé lán yǔ lián méng jiàn lì zhī qián chēng fú lā máng yǔ）、 fǎ yǔ huò bì： ōu yuán、 bǐ fǎ láng (BEF) mín zú： fú lā máng zú zhàn 59.3%； wǎ lóng zú zhàn 40.1%； rì 'ěr màn zú zhàn 0.6% zōng jiào： 90% de jū mín xìn fèng tiān zhù jiào tóng běi jīng shí chā： -7 guó jì diàn huà mǎ： 32 yǔ zhǒng fēn bù guān fāng fǎ yǔ hé hé lán yǔ wéi zhù , dà duō shù jū mín jiǎng fǎ yǔ , yán hǎi gǎng kǒu chéng shì zé tóng shí liú tōng xī bān yá yǔ hé pú táo yá yǔ , zhè hé bǐ lì shí rén mín bǎo shòu zhàn zhēng qīn lüè shì yòu zhòng yào guān xì de . shāo wēi dǒng diǎn lì shǐ de péng yǒu dōunéng liǎo jiě . guó jiā dì lǐ xíng zhèng qū huá quán guó dì fāng fēn wéi 10 gè shěng hé 589 gè shì zhèn。 10 gè shěng： ān tè wèi pǔ、 xī fú lán dé、 dōng fú lán dé、 lín bǎo、 běi bù lā bāng、 nán bù lā bāng、 liè rì、 āi nuò、 nà mù 'ěr hé lú sēn bǎo。 zì rán dì lǐ： miàn jī wéi３ ．０５ wàn píng fāng gōng lǐ， wèi yú 'ōu zhōu xī běi bù， dōng yǔ dé guó jiē rǎng， běi yǔ hé lán bǐ lín， nán yǔ fǎ guó jiāo jiè， xī lín běi hǎi。 hǎi 'àn xiàn cháng ６６ .５ gōng lǐ。 quán guó miàn jī２ ／３ wéi qiū líng hé píng tǎn dī dì， zuì dī chù lüè dī yú hǎi píng miàn。 bǐ lì shí wáng zǐ luò lǎng hé xīn niàn kè lāi 'ěr · kù mǔ sī zài bù lǔ sài 'ěr shì zhèng tīng yáng tái shàng jiē shòu rén men de xīn hūn zhù hè。 quán jìng fēn wéi xī běi bù yán hǎi fó lán dé lún píng yuán、 zhōng bù qiū líng、 dōng nán bù 'ā dēng gāo yuán sān bù fēn。 zuì gāo diǎn hǎi bá６９４ mǐ。 zhù yào hé liú yòu mǎ sī hé hé 'āi sī kǎo hé。 shǔ hǎi yáng xìng wēn dài kuò yè lín qì hòu。 rén kǒu：１０３５ .６ wàn（２００３ nián）， qí zhōng jiǎng fú lā máng yǔ de fú lā máng dà qū５９９ .６ wàn， jiǎng fǎ yǔ de wǎ lóng dà qū３３６ .８ wàn（ bāo kuò jiǎng dé yǔ de yuē７ .１ wàn）， shǐ yòng fú fǎ liǎng zhǒng yǔ yán de bù lǔ sài 'ěr shǒu dū dà qū９９ .２ wàn。 guān fāng yǔ yán wéi fǎ yǔ hé fú lā máng yǔ。 9０ % de jū mín xìn fèng tiān zhù jiào。 shǒu dū： bù lǔ sài 'ěr (Bruxelles)， yòu rén kǒu９９ .２ wàn（２００３ nián）。 yòu“ ōu zhōu shǒu dū” zhī chēng， shì 'ōu zhōu lián méng、 běi dà xī yáng gōng yuē zǔ zhì děng duō gè guó jì zǔ zhì de zǒng bù suǒ zài dì， měi nián yòu zhòng duō guó jì huì yì zài cǐ zhào kāi， lìng yòu２００ duō gè guó jì xíng zhèng zhōng xīn hé chāo guò１０００ gè guān fāng tuán tǐ zài cǐ shè yòu bàn shì chù。 jiāo tōng： yǐ gōng lù wéi zhù。 1989 nián jiāo tōng yùn shū qíng kuàng dà zhì rú xià： tiě lù zǒng cháng 3513 qiān mǐ； gōng lù zǒng cháng 1.61 wàn qiān mǐ， qí zhōng gāo sù gōng lù 1631 qiān mǐ； nèi hé háng dào zǒng cháng 1559.5 qiān mǐ； yòu 3 gè hǎi gǎng， zuì dà de 'ān tè wèi pǔ gǎng nián tūn tù néng lì yuē 1 yì dūn。 yòu gè zhǒng lèi xíng yùn shū fēi jī 793 jià， yùn shū wǎng luò lián xì 49 gè guó jiā de 74 gè chéng shì； bù lǔ sài 'ěr guó jì jī chǎng kě tíng 63 jiā wài háng bān jī。 tiān rán de dì lǐ yōu shì shǐ bǐ lì shí chéng wéi xī 'ōu de“ shí zì lù kǒu”。 lì jiè zhèng fǔ yīn dì zhì yí， dà lì fā zhǎn jiāo tōng hé háng yùn， bìng yǐ cǐ dài dòng shāng yè hé wài mào de fán róng， wèiguó jiā jīng jì de fā zhǎn diàn dìng liǎo jiān shí de jī chǔ。 bǐ lì shí shì shì jiè shàng dì yī gè zài quán bù gāo sù gōng lù shè zhì zhào míng lù dēng de guó jiā。 bǐ lì shí tiě lù wǎng de mì dù zài shì jiè shàng shǒu qū yī zhǐ， ér qiě zǎo zài shí duō nián qián jiù yǐ quán bù shí xiàn diàn qì huà。 bǐ lì shí shì shì jiè shí dà shāng pǐn jìn chū kǒu guó zhī yī， àn rén jūn chū kǒu liángjì suàn pái míng shì jiè dì yī。 bǐ lì shí５０ ％ yǐ shàng de gōng yè chǎn pǐn gōng chū kǒu， qí zhōng jīn zhǔsī xiàn、 píng bǎn bō lí、 shū xǐ máo xiàn、 zuàn shí děng de chū kǒu liàng jūn liè shì jiè qián máo。 2003 nián 9 yuè 28 rì， zài bǐ lì shí gé léi dù wǎ suǒ jǔ xíng de bù lā bāng tè mín jiān yì shù jié shàng， zhēn jiǎ dào cǎo rén zài jiē tóu yóu xíng。 bǐ lì shí de bù lā bāng tè rén zì 14 shì jì yǐ lái， měi nián 9 yuè dǐ dū jǔ xíng zì jǐ de mín jiān yì shù jié dà lì xī yǐn wài guó zī běn de zhèng cè wéi bǐ lì shí jīng jì dài lái liǎo huó lì， yě dài lái liǎo xīn jì shù hé xīn xīng gōng yè。１９９８ nián５ yuè， ōu méng shǒu nǎo huì yì què dìng bǐ lì shí wéi shǒu pī jiā rù 'ōu yuán qū guó jiā。２００２ nián， bǐ lì shí guó nèi shēng chǎn zǒng zhí wéi２６３６．５ yì 'ōu yuán， rén jūn guó mín shōu rù２．６３ wàn 'ōu yuán。 bǐ lì shí gēn tè guó jì huā huì bó lǎn huì bǐ lì shí gè lǚ yóu jǐng diǎn méng sī shì /MONS zài zhōng shì jì 'āi nuò gōng jué de tǔ dì shàng， chéng shì dōuyào miàn lín cóng qí shǒu fǔ méng sī kāi shǐ de duō cì wéi gōng jí rù qīn …… yīn cǐ zhōng shì jì de yí chǎn jiù hěn xī shǎo， zhǐ cún zài yī xiē 11 hé 13 shì jì wéi qiáng de yí jì， yī xiē dān rén qiú shì， dì dào jí yī xiē bó jué chéng bǎo de duàn wǎ cán yuán。 chéng shì díquè zāo shòu liǎo lù yì shí sì de hōng zhà， jiù rú tóng bù lǔ sài 'ěr yī yàng。 tā de shì zhèng fǔ dà shà sī dé wū tè jiào wù huì hái yòu bǎi fēn zhī bǎi bā luó kè fēng gé de zhōng lóu， shǐ zhè zuò chéng shì chéng wéi yī gè bǎo cún wán hǎo de zhēn bǎo。 rán 'ér， duì yú nà xiē céng dǎ suàn bǎ mù chǎng de lǜ yìn dà dào diū gěi gōng gòng gōng chéng de gōng chéng shī men de rén， nǐ huì kàn dào tā men hěn zhí dé 'āi yī 'ěr guāng。 bó wù guǎn， jiàn zhù wù hé jǐng diǎn dà guǎng chǎng de yì chù biǎo xiàn zài qí jiàn zhù fēng gé hé shì zhèng fǔ dà shà shàng。 rén men yě néng guān chá dào bìng zàn tàn yán sè zhī jīng měi。 zài zhè lǐ， zì cóng 70 nián dài chéng shì bù xìng dì bèi sǔn huài hòu， rén men jiù lì kè gěi yī xiē tè shū fáng zǐ de zhèng miàn chóngxīn tú shàng xiān yàn de sè cǎi。 zài yī xiē zhǐ bào jí yī xiē guò qù cǎo tú de jī chǔ shàng， méng tè 'ěr rén chóngxīn zhǎo dào liǎo yǐ qián céng shǐ yòng de sè diào jí huī jiāng。 měi gè chéng shì dōuyòu tā de sè diào。 zài shí bā shì jì mò fǎ guó jiān bìng zhù yì shèng xíng de shí dài， hǎo jǐ gè chéng shì dōubèi pò jiāng jiàn zhù wù de xià miàn shuà bái bìng chú qù dà liàng de bā luó kè fēng gé de zhuāng shì， fǒu zé jiù yòu fǎn gòng hé zhù yì de xián yí？ shā lè luó wǎ shì měi yǔ chǒu de jué miào hùn hé， tā yōng yòu xǔ duō měi lì de jiàn zhù wù què rèn qí zì rán fēng huà， pò jiù de jiàn zhù ràng rén men wàng jì liǎo wǎng xī de měi lì。 tóng shí jiān yòu jiàn zhù yì shù de zhǎn xīn hé pò luò zhī měi， duì cǐ hēi cūn de rén men bìng méi yòu jǐyǔ yīngyǒu de zhòng shì。 nín zhǐ néng zì jǐ qù fā xiàn ( huò zhě chéng wéi zhè xiē fáng wū de zhù rén…… hái kě yǐ zuò shēng yì )。 zhè yě shì hēi cūn rén rè qíng hàokè de yī zhǒng fāng shì。 chá lǐ 'èr shì guǎng chǎng /PlaceCharlesII wèi yú shàng chéng de zhè gè guǎng chǎng bǎo liú liǎo zuì chū de gé jú， bìng yǐ yuán yàng zài zào liǎo wài guān。 zhè shì xīng zhuàng de jūn shì jiàn zhù yí jì。 zuì chū de bù jú chū zì yú xī bān yá shí dài gōng chéng shī wàn 'ài sī hé dé ràng · bù láng yǐ zhī shǒu。 ( hòu zhě shì bǐ lì shí jūn shì gōng chéng shī， bù jǐn jiāng zhè zhǒng gé jú yòng yú shā lè luó wǎ， hái yòng yú 'ào sī táng dé 'ōu dé nà dé hé kē sī )。 qí hòu， wū bāng yě cǎi yòng liǎo shàng fǎ。 shì zhèng fǔ， chá lǐ 'èr shì guǎng chǎng zhè shì 30 nián dài de jié zuò， shàng miàn luò liǎo yī céng hòu hòu de hēi chén。 shì zhèng fǔ dà lóu wéi tī xíng， gāo guì diǎn yǎ、 jīng diāo xì zhuó。 zhù jiàn zhù biǎo miàn xíng zhuàng chōu xiàng， níng jié liǎo dà liàng láo dòng。 xiāng duì 'ér yán， shā lè luó wǎ shì yī gè nián qīng de chéng shì， bìng wèi jīng lì guò zhōng lóu shí dài。 yīn cǐ gāo míng de jiàn zhù shī sī zhā 'ěr， tiān jiā liǎo yī gè zhōng lóu， zhōng xīn piān yí， cóng 'ér liú yòu yú dì， zhù jiàn zhù wài guān duìchèn。 nín yī dìng huì liú lián yú jiàn zhù de nèi bù。 qiǎn fú diāo fēng gé yī zhì。 chú fēi zhè zuò měi lì de jiàn zhù bèi cuī huǐ， fǒu zé tā yǐ hòu kěn dìng yòu jià zhí。 xiàn zài gè zhǒng tǎ lóu， tíng chē chǎng、 shāng yè huà láng zhèng zài qǔ dài tā de wèi zhì。 gōng gòng bó wù guǎn hé hóng wěi de xì jù tīng wéi chéng shì lǚ guǎn de fù shǔ jiàn zhù。 yì shù chéng jiù lā sāng bō 'ěr qiáo hé gōng sī tǎn · mò ní yé de diāo xiàng（ miàn xiàng xià chéng de nán bù huǒ chē zhàn）， lán gān hé diāo kè tóng yàng yòu xī yǐn lì。 rán 'ér yí hàn de shì， gǔ lǎo de zhuāng shì yì shù zhào míng zhuāng zhì yǐ jīng bèi qǔ dài。 xīn yì shù chéng jiù - shàng chéng /Lavillehaute nà wū jiē（ diàn yǐng gōng） hé huá tiě lú dà dào yòu yī xiē fēi cháng yòu qù de jiàn zhù。 tā men zhōng de yī bù fēn shòu dào wéi yě nà xīn yì shù jǐ hé huà de qiáng liè yǐng xiǎng。 · dé fēng dān dà dào， " huáng jīn gōng " zhí dé yī kàn。 cū kè diǎn zhuì zhe jù yòu xīn yì shù mó hú huí yì de zhé zhōng pài jiàn zhù。 · yī xué dà lóu（ lǐ róng . bài lǚ sī jiē 40 hào） shì nà gè shí dài shā lè luó wǎ de yōu měi jiàn zhù zhī yī。 tā jiàn yú 1908 nián， dāng shí bǐ lì shí de xīn yì shù huó dòng yǐ jīng xiāo shēng nì jì， yīn cǐ xiàn zài chéng xiàn chū de wài guān shì yī gè jiào hǎo de zōng hé tǐ： zhí wù fēng gé， biān zhuàng de zhù tiě， qiǎn fú diāo ràng rén lián xiǎng qǐ gē tè jiàn zhù、 zhù zǐ、 chuāng hù hé jiǎ duìchèn qián liǎn。 · áng lì shāng diàn， dà shān jiē 38 hào： bǎo 'ěr · gǔ xī de jīng miào cū kè， kě tóng shí kàn kàn tóng yī cè qí tā de fáng wū。 zài shàng chéng de nà wū jiē jìn tóu bǎo 'ěr · ràng sōng dà dào shí zì lù kǒu， dōukě yǐ kàn dào bǎo 'ěr gǔ xī hé kè 'ěr bài de qí tā cū kè zuò pǐn。 · lā fū lè gōng， sū lè bái dà dào 7 hào， lí yì shù gōng liǎng bù yuǎn。 xīn yì shù zōng hé liǎo 'áng kǎ 'ěr fēng gé hé wéi yě nà fēn lí pài。 fù jiàn hé shān lán dōushì yóu BD dāng dài de huà jiā fú lǎng sī wǎ . sī yú dāng wán chéng de。（ sǎ mǎ ruì sī， bù lǔ sài 'ěr de chéng qiáng）， lā fū lè gōng bù shì jiàn zhù shī de zuò pǐn， shì yī gè zhuì rù 'ài hé de rén de zuò pǐn。 · bù méng lù， bǎo 'ěr， bā sī tè dà dào 164 ～ 174 hào， lí xiāng piàn bó wù guǎn bù yuǎn， yòu wǔ gè zhuān wū shì chóngxīn tú qī hé zhuāng shì guò de， tā men shǐ zhěng gè jiē dào dà fàng guāng cǎi。 tā men bìng bù zhù míng。 nín kě xiàng xíng rén jiè shào qí kě 'ài zhī chù（ zuò zhàn zài lìng yī cè yǐ biàn guān shǎng zhěng gè chǎng jǐng hé shǒu huì táo qì huà）。 xīn shì xià chéng de chéng jiù xià chéng shì shā lè wǎ luó de shāng yè qū， wèi yú wàn 'ài sī de fáng yù gōng shì bàng（ 17 shì jì）。 shā lè wǎ luó shì bǐ lì shí zuì nián qīng de chéng shì。 lú wàng， lā， nà wū hé lā lǔ wéi yé bìng bù shì lì shǐ míng chéng。 qián zhě shì 'ào dì ní de yī gè jiāo qū、 tā jì wú lǚ guǎn， yě méi yòu dú lì de xíng zhèng。 zhì yú hòu zhě， shì chǎn yè gé mìng hòu chǎn shēng de yī gè chéng shì zhōng xīn diǎn， yīn qí rén kǒu hé guī mó 'ér qǔ dé liǎo chéng shì de dì wèi。 xià chéng guǎng chǎng hé dà yóu jú /LaPlacedelavillebasseetGrand-Poste， ā bèi 'ěr yī shì guǎng chǎng， dà yóu jú dài yòu shì jì chū piào liàng de mù 'ǒu xì xiǎo jù yuàn de tè diǎn， lán bái sè shí tóu xiāngjiàn。 líng gǎn lái zì gē tè hé fù xīng shì fēng gé。 jiāo yì suǒ tōng dào hé dà xué jiē /LePassagedelaBourseetlarueduCollege（ 19 shì jì mò） háo wú yí wèn zhè shì quán chéng zuì měi de yī zǔ jiàn zhù。 dà xué jiē shàng dài yè bàn shì， chǐ lún shì huò fǎ guó shì gé lóu de fáng wū yǐ mí rén de jié zòu jiāo tì chū xiàn。 ér jiāo yì suǒ tōng dào de qián liǎn shì xīn gǔ diǎn shì de， háo huá zhuàng lì。 zài zhè zǔ jiàn zhù lǐ， bù yào wàng jì hái yòu shèng · ān tuō ní 'ào jiào táng， zhè gè cháng fāng xíng dà jiào táng kàn shàng qù hěn bèn zhòng， dàn shì xīn gǔ diǎn shì gǒng láng hěn yòu yì sī。 bō lí bó wù guǎn /MuseeduVerre， dé fēng dān dà jiē 10 hào /BoulevardDefontaine， diàn huà 071/310838， shā lè luó wǎ céng shì shì jiè bō lí zhì pǐn zhōng xīn， suǒ yǐ zhè gè bó wù guǎn yòu kě néng shì zuì piào liàng zuì yòu qù de。 dà liàng de zhuāng shì yì shù fēng gé zuò pǐn， bō lí jiē tī， 5000 nián de róng shā…… shè yǐng bó wù guǎn /MuseedelaPhotographie bǎo luó . pà sī tú 'ěr dà jiē， 11 hào /AvenuePaulPastur， mǎ qí 'ān fēng /Mont-sur-Marchienne， diàn huà 071/435810 zhōu 'èr～ zhōu rì， 10 diǎn～ 18 diǎn， bǐ lì shí wéi yī zhuān zhuān gōng shè yǐng zhǎn de dì fāng， cóng shè yǐng fā míng dào zuì xīn shè yǐng jì shù zhǎn shì liǎo shè yǐng fā zhǎn de quán bù lì shǐ， jīng cháng zhǎn chū chū bù shè yǐng cháng shì， lǎo shè yǐng shè bèi。 lín shí zhǎn lǎn dēng zài bù lǔ sài 'ěr bào zhǐ shàng dēng chū。 zuì hòu de jiàn yì gěi xiàn dài jiàn zhù 'àihào zhě， zài mǎ xī ná 'ěr yòu yī gè yòng gāng tiě zhì chéng de shí yàn jū mín qū -R3 chū kǒu， hù bù lín bù（ mù dì hòu miàn）， jīng yóu nà lín lù。 méi kuàng bó wù guǎn /MuseedelaMine zài zhù jiào fēng dān chéng bǎo dì xià， chéng bǎo hé jǐ zuò lǎo fáng zǐ（ méng sī lù） zhí dé kàn kàn。 gōng yè bó wù guǎn（ tiān mìng） /Providence zài mǎ xī 'ān qiáo（ méng sī fāng xiàng）。 hái yòu dì . lè chéng bǎo， bó 'ěr sài， hā mǔ hé méng suō děng dì de yī xiē chéng bǎo。 guó jiā lì shǐ jiǎn shǐ： gōng yuán qián kè 'ěr tè zú de bǐ lì qí rén zài cǐ jū zhù。 gōng yuán qián５７ nián qǐ cháng qī wéi luó mǎ rén、 gāo lú rén、 rì 'ěr màn rén fēn gē tǒng zhì。９ héng１４ shì jì bèi gè zhū hóu guó gē jù。１４ ─１５ shì jì jiàn lì liǎo bó gèn dì wáng cháo。 suí hòu yòu xiān hòu bèi xī bān yá、 ào dì lì、 fǎ guó tǒng zhì。１８１５ nián wéi yě nà huì yì jiāng bǐ lì shí bìng rù hé lán。１８３０ nián１０ yuè４ rì dú lì， dìng wéi shì xí jūn zhù lì xiàn wáng guó， bìng xuǎn zé liǎo yī gè dé guó rén、 sà kè sēn － kē bǎo－ gē dá gōng guó de wáng zǐ lì 'ào bō 'ěr dé zuò bǐ lì shí dì yī rèn guó wáng。 yì nián， lún dūn huì yì què dìng qí zhōng lì dì wèi。 liǎng cì shì jiè dà zhàn zhōng jūn bèi dé guó zhàn lǐng。 èr zhàn hòu jiā rù běi yuē。１９５８ nián jiā rù 'ōu zhōu gòng tóng tǐ， bìng yǔ hé lán、 lú sēn bǎo jié chéng jīng jì lián méng。１９９３ nián wán chéng guó jiā tǐ zhì gǎi gé， zhèng shì shí xíng lián bāng zhì。 bǐ lì shí shì běi dà xī yáng gōng yuē zǔ zhì chuàng shǐ guó， yě shì 'ōu zhōu lián méng de chéng yuán guó。２００５ nián５ yuè， bǐ lì shí zhòng yì yuàn pī zhǔn《 ōu méng xiàn fǎ tiáo yuē》， zhè yàng bǐ lì shí chéng wéi 'ōu méng２５ gè chéng yuán guó zhōng dì１０ gè pī zhǔn gāi tiáo yuē de guó jiā。 guó jiā zhèng zhì zhèng zhì：１９９４ nián２ yuè１７ rì， bǐ lì shí guó wáng 'ā 'ěr bèi 'èr shì zhèng shì qiān shǔ liǎo xīn xiàn fǎ wén běn。 xiàn fǎ guī dìng， bǐ lì shí shí xíng shì xí jūn zhù lì xiàn de lián bāng zhì。 guó wáng wèiguó jiā yuán shǒu， sān jūn zuì gāo tǒng shuài。 guó wáng hé yì huì gòng tóng xíng shǐ lì fǎ quán， hé zhèng fǔ gòng tóng xíng shǐ xíng zhèng quán， shí quán zài zhèng fǔ， zhèng fǔ duì yì huì fù zé。 yì huì shí xíng liǎng yuàn zhì， zhòng yì yuàn xíng shǐ lì fǎ quán， cān yì yuàn jǐn yòu lì fǎ jiàn yì hé zī xún quán， zhǐ zài xiū xiàn hé guó jiā tǐ zhì gǎi gé fāng miàn réng yǔ zhòng yì yuàn xiǎng shòu tóng děng quán lì。 tóng shí kuò dà dì qū zhèng fǔ de nèi zhèng hé wài jiāo quán lì。 yì yuán jīng pǔ xuǎn chǎn shēng， rèn qī４ nián。 xīn xiàn fǎ shǒu cì chéng rèn nǚ xìng wáng shì chéng yuán de wáng wèi jì chéng quán。 【 xiàn fǎ】 1994 nián 2 yuè 17 rì， bǐ lì shí zhòng cān liǎng yuàn tōng guò bǐ tǐ zhì gǎi gé hòu de xīn xiàn fǎ。 zhè shì 1831 nián yǐ lái bǐ lì shí dì yī cì duì xiàn fǎ jìn xíng zhòng dà xiū gǎi。 xīn xiàn fǎ cóng yuán lái de 140 tiáo zēng zhì 198 tiáo， bǎo liú liǎo yuán xiàn fǎ yòu guān jī běn zì yóu、 quán lì fēn xiǎng hé guó jiā mín zhù de 2/3 tiáo kuǎn。 xiàn fǎ guī dìng bǐ shí xíng shì xí jūn zhù lì xiàn de lián bāng zhì。 guó wáng wèiguó jiā yuán shǒu、 sān jūn zuì gāo tǒng shuài。 guó wáng hé yì huì gòng tóng xíng shǐ lì fǎ quán， hé zhèng fǔ gòng tóng xíng shǐ xíng zhèng quán， shí quán zài zhèng fǔ， zhèng fǔ duì yì huì fù zé。 yì huì shí xíng liǎng yuàn zhì， zhòng yì yuàn xíng shǐ lì fǎ quán， cān yì yuàn jǐn yòu lì fǎ jiàn yì hé zī xún quán， zhǐ zài xiū xiàn hé guó jiā tǐ zhì gǎi gé fāng miàn réng yǔ zhòng yì yuàn xiǎng shòu tóng děng quán lì。 tóng shí kuò dà dì qū zhèng fǔ de nèi zhèng hé wài jiāo quán lì。 hú hú xīn xiàn fǎ shǒu cì chéng rèn nǚ xìng wáng shì chéng yuán de wáng wèi jì chéng quán。 【 yì huì】 lián bāng yì huì yóu 150 míng zhòng yì yuán hé 71 míng cān yì yuán zǔ chéng， rèn qī 4 nián。 zhòng yì yuán yóu quán guó 20 xuǎn qū zhí xuǎn chǎn shēng。 zài 71 míng cān yì yuán zhōng， dì qū zhí jiē xuǎn jǔ 40 míng， yǔ yán qū yì huì zhǐ pài 21 míng， lìng wài lín xuǎn 10 míng， guó wáng chéng nián zǐ nǚ shì fǎ dìng cān yì yuán。 xīn yī jiè bǐ lì shí lián bāng yì huì yú 2003 nián 5 yuè 18 rì xuǎn jǔ chǎn shēng。 zhòng yì yuàn yì cháng hè 'ěr màn ? dé kè luó（ HermanDeCroo， hé yǔ zì mín dǎng， 1999 nián 7 yuè jiù rèn， 2003 nián 5 yuè lián rèn）。 cān yì yuàn yì cháng 'ā 'ěr máng ? dé dài kè 'ěr（ ArmandDeDecker， fǎ yǔ gé xīn yùn dòng dǎng， 1999 nián 7 yuè jiù rèn， 2003 nián 5 yuè lián rèn）。 【 zhèng fǔ】 běn jiè zhèng fǔ yú 2003 nián 7 yuè 12 rì zǔ chéng， chú shǒu xiāng wài gòng yòu 14 míng dà chén， 6 míng guó wù mì shū。 zhù yào chéng yuán： shǒuxiàng fú sī dá（ yuán yì jū yī ? wéi 'ěr huò fū sī dá tè， GuyVerhofstadt）， fù shǒuxiàng jiān sī fǎ dà chén luò lěi tè ? wēng kǎi lán（ LauretteOnkelinx）， fù shǒu xiāng jiān yù suàn、 shè huì yī tǐ huà jí shè huì jīng jì dà chén yuē hàn ? fàn dé lā nuò tè（ JohanVandeLanotte）， fù shǒu xiāng jiān wài jiāo dà chén lù yì ? mǐ xiē 'ěr（ LouisMichel）， fù shǒu xiāng jiān nèi zhèng dà chén pà tè lǐ kè ? dé wǎ 'ěr（ PatrickDewael） , guó fáng dà chén 'ān dé liè ? fú lā 'ào（ AndreFlahaut）， cái zhèng dà chén dí dí 'āi ? léi 'ēn dài 'ěr（ DidierReynders）。 【 sī fǎ jī gòu】 quán guó shè 222 gè zhì 'ān shěn lǐ suǒ， 26 gè chū shěn fǎ yuàn， 5 gè shàng sù fǎ yuàn， 1 gè zuì gāo fǎ yuàn。 10 shěng gè shè 1 gè zhòng zuì fǎ tíng。 sān jí fǎ yuàn jūn yòu xiāng yìng de jiǎn chá jī gòu。 gè jí fǎ yuàn de fǎ guān jūn yóu guó wáng zhí jiē huò gēn jù tóng jí yì huì de tí míng rèn miǎn， zhōng shēn rèn zhí。 gè jí jiǎn chá cháng yóu guó wáng gēn jù zhèng fǔ tí míng rèn miǎn。 zuì gāo fǎ yuàn yuàn cháng lā wū sī（ M.Lahousse）。 zuì gāo jiǎn chá yuàn jiǎn chá cháng yà dīng（ JeanduJardin）。 【 zhèng dǎng】 zhù yào yòu 9 gè zhèng dǎng： hú hú（ 1） hé yǔ zì yóu mín zhù dǎng（ VlaamsLiberalenenDemocraten， VLD.）： zhí zhèng dǎng， 1992 nián 11 yuè chéng lì， qián shēn wéi 1972 nián cóng zì yóu dǎng fēn liè chéng lì de hé yǔ zì yóu jìn bù dǎng（ PartijvoorVrijheidenVooruitgang， PVV）， dǎng yuán 9 wàn（ 2003 nián）。 2004 nián 2 yuè， yuán dǎng zhù xí kǎ léi 'ěr ? dé ? gǔ hè tè（ KarelDeGucht） yīn yán lùn bù dāng zāo zhì pī píng bèi miǎn zhí， xīn rèn dǎng zhù xí shì dí kè ? sī dài kè sī（ DirkSterckx）。 （ 2） fǎ yǔ shè huì dǎng（ PartiSocialiste， PS）： zhí zhèng dǎng， dǎng yuán yuē 10 wàn（ 2003 nián）。 qián shēn shì 1885 nián chéng lì de bǐ lì shí gōng rén dǎng。 1945 nián gǎi chēng bǐ lì shí shè huì dǎng， 1978 nián yīn mín zú hé yǔ qū máo dùn fēn liè wéi fǎ yǔ shè huì dǎng hé hé yǔ shè huì dǎng。 1999 nián 10 yuè 11 rì， gāi dǎng zhào kāi dài biǎo dà huì， āi lì 'ào ? dí lǚ bō（ ElioDiRupo） dāng xuǎn wéi zhù xí。 （ 3） fǎ yǔ gé xīn yùn dòng dǎng（ MouvementRéformateur， MR）： zhí zhèng dǎng。 qián shēn shì 1846 nián chéng lì de zì yóu dǎng。 1972 nián zì yóu dǎng fēn liè wéi hé yǔ zì mín dǎng hé fǎ yǔ gé xīn zì yóu dǎng（ PRL）， 2002 nián 3 yuè 24 rì fǎ yǔ gé xīn zì yóu dǎng yǔ fǎ yǔ mín zhù zhèn xiàn（ FDF）、 guó mín gé xīn yùn dòng（ MCC） hé bìng zǔ chéng fǎ yǔ gé xīn yùn dòng dǎng。 2004 nián 2 yuè， yuán dǎng zhù xí、 bù lǔ sài 'ěr shǒu dū dà qū shǒu xí dà chén dù kǎ mǔ yīn táo shuì fēng bō cí zhí， xiàn rèn zhù xí shì 'ān tuō ní ? dí kǎi nà（ AntoineDuquesne）。 （ 4） hé yǔ shè huì dǎng（ SociaalProgressiefAlternatief， SP.A）： zhí zhèng dǎng， dǎng yuán yuē 6.8 wàn（ 2003 nián）。 1978 nián yóu bǐ lì shí shè huì dǎng fēn liè 'ér chéng， yuán míng SocialistischePartij（ SP）， 2001 nián gǎi xiàn míng。 xiàn rèn dǎng zhù xí shì sī dì fū ? sī tè wǎ tè（ SteveStevaert）。 2002 nián 7 yuè gāi dǎng yǔ hé yǔ shè huì zì yóu dǎng（ SPIRIT） zǔ chéng 2003 nián jìng xuǎn lián méng。 hú（ 5） hé yǔ shè huì zì yóu dǎng（ SPIRIT）： dǎng míng wéi shè huì、 jìn bù、 guó jì、 qū yù、 wán quán mín zhù、 miàn xiàng wèi lái de wài wén suǒ xiě， zhí zhèng dǎng， dǎng yuán yuē 3000（ 2003 nián）。 yú 2001 nián yóu 1954 nián chéng lì de rén mín lián méng（ Volksunie） fēn liè 'ér chéng。 dǎng zhù xí shì fàn wéi tè（ ElsvanWeert）。 hú（ 6） hé yǔ jī mín dǎng（ CDV）： zài yě dǎng， dǎng yuán yuē 14 wàn（ 2003 nián）。 qián shēn shì 1815 nián chéng lì de jī dū jiào shè huì dǎng。 1846～ 1936 nián chēng tiān zhù jiào lián méng， 1945 nián gǎi chēng jī dū jiào shè huì dǎng。 1968 nián yīn mín zú máo dùn fēn liè wéi hé yǔ jī dū jiào rén mín dǎng（ CVP） hé fǎ yǔ jī dū jiào shè huì dǎng。 2000 nián hé yǔ jī dū jiào rén mín dǎng gēngmíng wéi hé yǔ jī dū jiào mín zhù dǎng（ CDV）。 hú hú（ 7） fǎ yǔ rén dào zhù yì mín zhù zhōng xīn dǎng（ CDH）： zài yě dǎng， dǎng yuán 4.6 wàn（ 1999 nián）。 1968 nián yóu jī dū jiào shè huì dǎng fēn liè 'ér chéng fǎ yǔ jī dū jiào shè huì dǎng（ PSC）， 2002 nián gèng xiàn míng。 1999 nián 10 yuè 23 rì， gāi dǎng zhào kāi dài biǎo dà huì， ráo 'ài lè ? mǐ lè gài（ nǚ， JoelleMilquet） dāng xuǎn wéi zhù xí。 hú hú（ 8） fú lā máng lǜ dǎng（ Groen）： zài yě dǎng， dǎng yuán 6559 rén（ 2003 nián）。 qián shēn wéi 1982 nián chéng lì de hé yǔ shēng tài dǎng（ Agalev）， 2003 nián gèng xiàn míng。 dǎng zhù xí wéi lā ? dù 'ā（ VeraDua）。 hú hú（ 9） fǎ yǔ shēng tài dǎng： zài yě dǎng， dǎng yuán 4116 rén（ 2003 nián）。 chéng lì yú 1980 nián。 gāi dǎng shí xiàn jí tǐ lǐng dǎo。 cǐ wài hái yòu fú lā máng jí tuán、 bǐ lì shí láo dòng dǎng、 bǐ lì shí jìn bù tuán jié gòng chǎn dǎng（ qián bǐ mǎ liè gòng） děng xiǎo dǎng。 guó jiā jīng jì jīng jì： fā dá de zī běn zhù yì gōng yè guó jiā， jīng jì gāo dù duì wài yǐ lài，８０％ de yuán liào kào jìn kǒu，５０％ yǐ shàng de gōng yè chǎn pǐn gōng chū kǒu。 jù gū cè， méi yùn cáng liàng wéi３７ yì dūn， qí zhōng yòu kāi cǎi jià zhí de１８ yì dūn， wǎ lóng dì qū de méi céng yǐ kāi cǎi dài jìn。 cǐ wài shàng yòu shǎo liàng tiě、 xīn、 qiān、 tóng děng。 hé diàn zhàn７ zuò， zhàn zǒng fā diàn liàng de６５ %。 sēn lín jí lǜ dì miàn jī６０７０ píng fāng gōng lǐ（２００２ nián）。 zhù yào gōng yè bù mén yòu gāng tiě、 jī xiè、 yòu sè jīn shǔ、 huà gōng、 fǎng zhì、 bō lí、 méi tàn děng hángyè。 wài mào wéi bǐ lì shí jīng jì mìng mài。 zhù yào mào yì huǒ bàn wéi 'ōu gòng tǐ chéng yuán guó， qí cì wéi qí tā 'ōu zhōu guó jiā jí běi měi、 yà zhōu hé fēi zhōu guó jiā。 duì wài tóu zī zhù yào zài yuǎn dōng dì qū， qí cì shì zhā yī 'ěr、 bù lóng dí、 lú wàng dá、 ōu zhōu、 lā měi hé běi měi。 zhù yào tóu zī bù mén wéi yě jīn、 jiàn zhù cái liào hé fú wù yè。 měi nián duì wài yuán zhù zǒng 'é yuē 250 yì bǐ fǎ láng（ yuē hé 6.7 yì měi yuán）， shòu yuán guó dá 100 yú gè， fēi zhōu guó jiā zhàn 75％。 dài kuǎn yuán zhù zhōng de 50％ yòng yú yà zhōu guó jiā。 wén huà jiào yù xīn wén chū bǎn：１９９８ nián yòu rì bào３０ zhǒng， zhōu bào qiān yú zhǒng， qí tā qī kān５０００ yú zhǒng， zhù yào yòng fú lā máng wén hé fǎ wén chū bǎn， jí shǎo shù yòng dé wén chū bǎn。 zhù yào bào kān yòu：《 biāo zhǔn bào》（ fú lā máng yǔ）、《 zì yóu bǐ lì shí bào》（ fǎ yǔ）、《 zuì xīn xiāo xī bào》（ fǎ yǔ）、《 wǎn bào》（ fǎ yǔ）。《 biāo zhǔn bào》 fā xíng liàng３０ yú wàn fèn， jū shǒu wèi， qí yú１０～３０ wàn fèn。 bǐ lì shí tōng xùn shè yú１９３６ nián chuàng jiàn。 guó jiā guǎng bō jú jiàn yú１９３０ nián，１９６０ nián fēn wéi liǎng gè dú lì de guǎng bō diàn shì tái， fēn bié yòng fǎ yǔ、 fú lā máng yǔ bō sòng guǎng bō、 diàn shì jié mù， lì shǔ dì qū zhèng fǔ lǐng dǎo。 wén huà jiào yù： shí xíng 6～ 18 suì miǎn fèi yì wù jiào yù zhì。 jiào yù yóu dì qū zhèng fǔ guǎn lǐ。 yòu lú mén dà xué děng 19 suǒ dà zhuān yuàn xiào； měi nián zhāo shōu de wài guó xué shēng yuē zhàn zài xiào dà xué shēng zǒng shù de 12％。 zhù yào bào kān yòu《 biāo zhǔn bào》 ( hé wén )、《 zì yóu bǐ lì shí bào》（ fǎ wén）、《 zuì xīn xiāo xī bào》 ( fǎ wén )、《 wǎn bào》（ fǎ wén） děng。 bǐ lì shí tōng xùn shè jiàn yú 1936 nián。 guó jiā guǎng bō jú jiàn yú 1930 nián； 1960 nián fēn shè 2 gè dú lì de guǎng bō diàn shì tái。 duì wài guān xì wài jiāo： tuī xíng jī jí de 'ōu zhōu zhèng cè， zhù zhāng jiā kuài 'ōu zhōu yī tǐ huà jiàn shè bù fá； zhī chí hé cānyù lián hé guó wéi hé xíng dòng yǔ rén dào zhù yì yuán zhù； zhòng shì yǔ měi guó de guān xì； zhù zhāng jiā qiáng yǔ dú lián tǐ hé dōng 'ōu guó jiā de jiāo wǎng； zài jī jí tuī dòng fā zhǎn zhōng guó jiā mín zhù huà jìn chéng de tóng shí， zhù yì huǎn hé yǔ tā men de guān xì。 yǔ zhōng guó guān xì：１９７１ nián１０ yuè２５ rì， zhōng bǐ liǎng guó jiàn jiāo。 jǐ shí nián lái， liǎng guó guān xì fā zhǎn shùn lì。１９９８ nián dǐ， bǐ lì shí shǒuxiàng dé 'ā nà fǎng huá。２０００ nián， bǐ lì shí wáng chǔ fěi lì pǔ qīn wáng shuài lǐng２００ duō rén de dà xíng jīng mào dài biǎo tuán fǎng huá。２００２ nián， bǐ lì shí shǒuxiàng fú sī dá fǎng huá。２００４ nián５ yuè， wēn jiā bǎo zǒng lǐ duì bǐ lì shí jìn xíng zhèng shì fǎng wèn， zhōng bǐ qiān shǔ guān yú jiā qiáng zhèng zhì duì huà de lián hé shēng míng。２００５ nián６ yuè， bǐ lì shí guó wáng 'ā 'ěr bèi 'èr shì duì zhōng guó jìn xíng guó shì fǎng wèn。 Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north, with 58% of the population, and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia, inhabited by 32%. The Brussels-Capital Region, although officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region and near the Walloon Region, and has 10% of the population. A small German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government. The name 'Belgium' is derived from Gallia Belgica, a Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul that was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of Celtic and Germanic peoples. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until the Belgian revolution in 1830, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed "the battlefield of Europe" and "the cockpit of Europe" — a reputation strengthened by both World Wars. Upon its independence, Belgium eagerly participated in the Industrial Revolution, generating wealth and also a demand for raw materials; the latter was a factor during the era of its African colonies. The area of present-day Belgium has seen significant demographic, political and cultural upheavals over the course of two millennia. In the first century, the Romans, after defeating the local tribes, created the province of Gallia Belgica. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century, brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kingdom, which evolved into the Carolingian Empire in the 8th century. During the Middle Ages small feudal states emerged, many of which rejoined as the Burgundian Netherlands in the 14th and 15th centuries. Emperor Charles V completed the union of the Seventeen Provinces in the 1540s, and unofficially also controlled the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) divided the area into the northern United Provinces ('federate' Belgica Foederata in Latin) and the Southern Netherlands ('royal' Belgica Regia). The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and comprised most of modern Belgium. Until independence the area was sought after by numerous French conquerors and was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. Following the campaigns of 1794 in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Low Countries — including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège — were annexed by the French First Republic, ending Spanish-Austrian rule in the region. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815. The 1830 Belgian Revolution led to the establishment of an independent, Catholic, and neutral Belgium under a provisional government and a national congress. Since the installation of Leopold I as king in 1831, Belgium has been a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. Initially an oligarchy ruled mainly by the Catholic Party and the Liberals, the country had evolved towards universal suffrage by World War II with the rise of the Belgian Labour Party and trade unions playing a strong role. French, once the single official language and adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie, had by then lost its overall importance as Dutch, the language of the majority of the population, had become recognized as well, be it only in 1898. However, it was not until 1967 that an official Dutch version of the Constitution was accepted. Episode of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 (1834) by Egide Charles Gustave Wappers, in the Ancient Art Museum, Brussels.The Berlin Conference of 1885 gave the Congo Free State to King Leopold II as his private possession. In 1908, it was ceded to Belgium as a colony, henceforth called the Belgian Congo. Belgian control of the Congolese population, particularly under Leopold II, was savage, and the country was plundered of resources such as ivory and rubber. Germany invaded Belgium in 1914 as part of the Schlieffen Plan, and much of the Western Front fighting of World War I occurred in western parts of the country. Belgium took over the German colonies of Ruanda-Urundi (modern day Rwanda and Burundi) during the war, and they were mandated to Belgium in 1924 by the League of Nations, of which it was a founding member. The Treaty of Versailles had subjected several German border towns, most notably Eupen and Malmedy, to a controversial plebiscite, which led to their annexation by Belgium in 1925, thereby causing the presence of a small German community. Belgium was again invaded by Germany in 1940 during the Blitzkrieg offensive, and occupied until its liberation by Allied troops in the winter of 1944–1945. The Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 during the Congo Crisis; Ruanda-Urundi followed two years later. After World War II, Belgium joined NATO as a founder member, headquartered at Brussels, and formed the Benelux group of nations with the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Belgium became one of the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951,and of the 1957 established European Atomic Energy Community and European Economic Community. The latter is now the European Union, for which Belgium hosts major administrations and institutions, including the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the extraordinary and committee sessions of the European Parliament. Government and politics Main article: Politics of Belgium See also: Belgian federal parliament, Belgian federal government, and Political parties in Belgium Further information: List of Belgian monarchs, List of Belgian Prime Ministers, Foreign relations of Belgium Belgium is a constitutional, popular monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. In the 19th century, the Francophile political and economic elite treated the Dutch-speaking population as second class citizens. At the end of the 19th century, and during much of the 20th century, the Flemish movement evolved to counter this situation. Following World War II, Belgian politics became increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main language communities. Intercommunal tensions rose and even the unity of the Belgian state became scrutinized. Through constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s, regionalization of the unitary state led to a three-tiered federation: federal, regional, and community governments were created, a compromise designed to minimize linguistic, cultural, social and economic tensions. Prime Minister Yves LetermeThe federal bicameral parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives. The former is made up of 40 directly elected politicians and 21 representatives appointed by the 3 community parliaments, 10 coopted senators and as senators by Right who in practice do not cast their vote, currently Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent, children of the King. The Chamber's 150 representatives are elected under a proportional voting system from 11 electoral districts. Belgium is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting, and thus holds one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world. The King (currently Albert II) is the head of state, though with limited prerogatives. He appoints ministers, including a Prime Minister, that have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives to form the federal government. The numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers are equal as prescribed by the Constitution. The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code. The Court of Cassation is the court of last resort, with the Court of Appeal one level below. Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organized around the need to represent the main cultural communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct components that mainly represent the political and linguistic interests of these communities. The major parties in each community, though close to the political centre, belong to three main groups: the right-wing Liberals, the socially conservative Christian Democrats, and the Socialists forming the left-wing. Further notable parties came into being well after the middle of last century, mainly around linguistic, nationalist, or environmental themes, and recently smaller ones of some specific liberal nature. A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958 was broken in 1999 after the first dioxin crisis, a major food contamination scandal that led to the establishment of the Belgian Food Agency. A 'rainbow coalition' emerged from six parties: the Flemish and the French-speaking Liberals, Social Democrats, Greens. Later, a 'purple coalition' of Liberals and Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of their seats in the 2003 election. The government led by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from 1999 to 2007 achieved a balanced budget, some tax-reforms, a labour-market reform, scheduled nuclear phase-out, and instigated legislation allowing more stringent war crime and more lenient soft drug usage prosecution. Restrictions on withholding euthanasia were reduced and same-sex marriage legalized. The government promoted active diplomacy in Africa and opposed the invasion of Iraq. Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the June 2007 elections. Since then the country has been experiencing a long-lasting political crisis. This crisis is such that many observers have speculated on a possible partition of Belgium. Since December 21, 2007 the Verhofstadt III Government has been in office. This coalition of the Flemish and Francophone Christian Democrats, the Flemish and Francophone Liberals together with the Francophone Social Democrats was an interim government until 20 March 2008. On that day a new government, led by Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme, the actual winner of the federal elections of June 2007, was sworn in by the King. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Belgium (along with Finland and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries. Communities and regions Flemish Community (Dutch-speaking) French Community (French-speaking) German-speaking Community Flemish Region Walloon Region Brussels-Capital Region Based on the four language areas defined in 1962–63, consecutive revisions of the country's constitution in 1970, 1980, 1988 and 1993 established a unique federal state with segregated political power into three levels: The federal government, based in Brussels. The three language communities: the Flemish Community (Dutch-speaking); the French (i.e., French-speaking) Community; the German-speaking Community. The three regions: the Flemish Region, subdivided into five provinces; the Walloon Region, subdivided into five provinces; the Brussels-Capital Region. The constitutional language areas determine the official languages in their municipalities, as well as the geographical limits of the empowered institutions for specific matters. By Law, inhabitants of 27 municipalities can ask limited services to be rendered in a neighbour language, forming 'facilities' for them. 'Facilities' exist only in specific municipalities along the borders of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Regions. Regions and provinces of Belgium (blue: Dutch language, yellow: French language)Although this would allow for seven parliaments and governments, when the Communities and Regions were created in 1980, Flemish politicians decided to merge both; thus in the Flemish Region a single institutional body of parliament and government is empowered for all except federal and specific municipal matters. The overlapping boundaries of the Regions and Communities have created two notable peculiarities: the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region (which came into existence nearly a decade after the other regions) is included in both the Flemish and French Communities, and the territory of the German-speaking Community lies wholly within the Walloon Region. Conflicts between the bodies are resolved by the Constitutional Court of Belgium. The structure is intended as a compromise to allow different cultures to live together peacefully. Political authority The Federal State retains a considerable "common heritage". This includes justice, defence, federal police, social security, nuclear energy, monetary policy and public debt, and other aspects of public finances. State-owned companies include the Post Office and Belgian Railways. The Federal Government is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. It controls substantial parts of public health, home affairs and foreign affairs. Communities exercise their authority only within linguistically determined geographical boundaries, originally oriented towards the individuals of a Community's language: culture (including audiovisual media), education, and the use of the relevant language. Extensions to personal matters less directly connected with language comprise health policy (curative and preventive medicine) and assistance to individuals (protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, immigrant assistance services, etc.). Regions have authority in fields that can be broadly associated with their territory. These include economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport, the environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit, and foreign trade. They supervise the provinces, municipalities, and intercommunal utility companies. In several fields, the different levels each have their own say on specifics. With education, for instance, the autonomy of the Communities neither includes decisions about the compulsory aspect nor allows for setting minimum requirements for awarding qualifications, which remain federal matters. Each level of government can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers. Geography, climate, and environment Main article: Geography of Belgium Belgium shares borders with France (620 km), Germany (167 km), Luxembourg (148 km) and the Netherlands (450 km). Its total area, including surface water area, is 33,990 square kilometres; land area alone is 30,528 km². Belgium has three main geographical regions: the coastal plain in the north-west and the central plateau both belong to the Anglo-Belgian Basin; the Ardennes uplands in the south-east are part of the Hercynian orogenic belt. The Paris Basin reaches a small fourth area at Belgium's southernmost tip, Belgian Lorraine. High Fens (Hautes Fagnes)The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and polders. Further inland lies a smooth, slowly rising landscape irrigated by numerous waterways, with fertile valleys and the northeastern sandy plain of the Campine (Kempen). The thickly forested hills and plateaus of the Ardennes are more rugged and rocky with caves and small gorges, and offer much of Belgium's wildlife but little agricultural capability. Extending westward into France, this area is eastwardly connected to the Eifel in Germany by the High Fens plateau, on which the Signal de Botrange forms the country's highest point at 694 metres (2,277 ft). The climate is maritime temperate, with significant precipitation in all seasons (Köppen climate classification: Cfb). The average temperature is lowest in January at 3 °C (37 °F), and highest in July at 18 °C (64 °F). The average precipitation per month varies between 54 millimetres (2.1 in) in February or April, to 78 millimetres (3.1 in) in July. Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature minimums of 7 °C (45 °F) and maximums of 14 °C (57 °F), and monthly rainfall of 74 millimetres (2.9 in); these are about 1 degree Celsius and nearly 10 millimetres above last century's normal values, respectively. Because of its high population density, location in the centre of Western Europe, and inadequate political effort, Belgium faces serious environmental problems. A 2003 report suggested Belgian rivers to have the lowest water quality of the 122 countries studied. In the 2006 pilot Environmental Performance Index, Belgium scored 75.9% for overall environmental performance and was ranked lowest of the EU member countries , though it was only 39th of 133 countries. Economy Main article: Economy of Belgium Belgium's economy and its transportation infrastructure are integrated with the rest of Europe. Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helps make it one of the world's ten largest trading nations. The economy is characterized by a highly productive work force, high GNP, and high exports per capita. Belgium's main imports are food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles. Its main exports are automobiles, food products, iron and steel, finished diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and nonferrous metals. The Belgian economy is heavily service-oriented and shows a dual nature: a dynamic Flemish economy, with Brussels as its main multilingual and multi-ethnic centre, and a Walloon economy that lags behind. One of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium strongly supports an open economy and the extension of the powers of EU institutions to integrate member economies. In 1999, Belgium adopted the Euro, the single European currency, which fully replaced the Belgian franc in 2002. Since 1922, Belgium and Luxembourg have been a single trade market within a customs and currency union: the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union. Steelmaking along the Meuse River at Ougrée, near LiègeBelgium was the first continental European country to undergo the Industrial Revolution, in the early 1800s. Liège and Charleroi rapidly developed mining and steelmaking, which flourished until the mid-20th century in the Sambre-Meuse valley, the sillon industriel. However, by the 1840s the textile industry of Flanders was in severe crisis and the region experienced famine from 1846–50. After World War II, Ghent and Antwerp experienced a rapid expansion of the chemical and petroleum industries. The 1973 and 1979 oil crises sent the economy into a recession; it was particularly prolonged in Wallonia, where the steel industry had become less competitive and experienced serious decline. In the 1980s and 90s, the economic centre of the country continued to shift northwards and is now concentrated in the populous Flemish Diamond area. By the end of the 1980s, Belgian macroeconomic policies had resulted in a cumulative government debt of about 120% of GDP. As of 2006, the budget was balanced and public debt was equal to 90.30% of GDP. In 2005 and 2006, real GDP growth rates of 1.5% and 3.0%, respectively, were slightly above the average for the Euro area. Unemployment rates of 8.4% in 2005 and 8.2% in 2006 were close to the area average. Demographics Main article: Demographics of Belgium At the start of 2007 nearly 92% of the Belgian population were national citizens, and around 6% were citizens from other European Union member countries. The prevalent foreign nationals were Italian (171,918), French (125,061), Dutch (116,970), Moroccan (80,579), Spanish (42,765), Turkish (39,419), and German (37,621). Main areas and places in Belgium Urbanisation Almost all of the Belgian population is urban — 97% in 2004. The population density of Belgium is 342 per square kilometre (886 per square mile) — one of the highest in Europe, after that of the Netherlands and some microstates such as Monaco. The most densely inhabited area is the Flemish Diamond, outlined by the Antwerp-Leuven-Brussels-Ghent agglomerations. The Ardennes have the lowest density. As of 2006, the Flemish Region had a population of about 6,078,600, with Antwerp (457,749), Ghent (230,951) and Bruges (117,251) its most populous cities; Wallonia had 3,413,978, with Charleroi (201,373), Liège (185,574) and Namur (107.178) its most populous. Brussels houses 1,018,804 in the Capital Region's 19 municipalities, two of which have over 100,000 residents. Languages Main article: Languages of Belgium Both the Dutch spoken in Belgium and the Belgian French have minor differences in vocabulary and semantic nuances from the varieties spoken in the Netherlands and France. Many Flemish people still speak dialects of Dutch in their local environment. Walloon, once the main regional language of Wallonia, is now only understood and spoken occasionally, mostly by elderly people. Its dialects, along with those of Picard, are not used in public life. As no census exists, there are no official statistics on Belgium's three official languages or their dialects. Various criteria, including the language(s) of parents, of education, or the second-language status of foreign born, may affect suggested figures. An estimated 59% of the Belgian population speaks Dutch (often referred to as Flemish), and French is spoken by 40%. Total Dutch speakers are 6.23 million, concentrated in the northern Flanders region, while French speakers comprise 3.32 million in Wallonia and an estimated 0.87 million or 85% of the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region. The German-speaking Community is made up of 73,000 people in the east of the Walloon Region; around 10,000 German and 60,000 Belgian nationals are speakers of German. Roughly 23,000 more of German speakers live in municipalities near the official Community. Bilingual signs in Brussels.The Capital Region having bilingual status obliges its authorities to attend to people and organisations in French or Dutch language as these prefer, and to show street names in both languages on the plates, but does not allow a bilingual school as education belongs to either the French Community or the Flemish one. Geographically, it is an enclave in the Flemish Region though near Wallonia. Constitutionally, it is a politically distinct Region, while within its boundaries both the Flemish and French Communities exercise their authority. Until the end of the 19th century the majority of its inhabitants spoke local Brabantian dialects of the Dutch language. However a large-scale francization of Brussels started in the 19th century. As a result, by the 1910 census, the French language had overtaken the local Brabantian dialects in what is now the Capital Region. (source). Today Dutch is spoken by approximately 150,000 residents of the Brussels-Capital Region, or a 15% minority. Recent immigration has brought its population of foreign origin to 56%.[citation needed] The two largest foreign groups come from two francophone countries: France and Morocco. The first language of roughly half of the inhabitants is not an official one of the Capital Region.[citation needed] Nevertheless, about three out of four residents have the Belgian nationality. In general the population of Brussels is younger and the gap between rich and poor is wider. Brussels also has a large concentration of Muslims, mostly of Turkish and Moroccan ancestry, and mainly French-speaking black Africans. However, Belgium does not collect statistics by ethnic background, so exact figures are unknown. In 2006, the Université Catholique de Louvain, the country's largest French-speaking university, published a report with the introduction (here translated): "This issue of Regards économiques is devoted to the demand for knowledge of languages in Belgium and in its three regions (Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia). The surveys show that Flanders is clearly more multilingual, which is without doubt a well known fact, but the difference is considerable : whereas 59% and 53% of the Flemings know French or English respectively, only 19% and 17% of the Walloons know Dutch or English. The measures advocated by the Marshall Plan go towards the proper direction, but are without doubt very insufficient to fully overcome the lag." (This particular 2006–2009 'Marshall Plan' was devised in 2004 and published in 2005 to uplift the Walloon economy.) Within the report, professors in economics Ginsburgh and Weber further show that of the Brussels' residents, 95% declared they can speak French, 59% Dutch, and 41% know the non-local English. Economically significant for a further globalizing future, among people under the age of forty, in Flanders 59%, in Wallonia 10%, and in Brussels 28% can speak all three forementioned languages. In each region, Belgium's third official language, German, is notably less known than those. Education See also: Education in Belgium Education is compulsory from six to eighteen for Belgians, but many continue to study until about 23 years of age. Among OECD countries in 2002, Belgium had the third-highest proportion of 18–21-year-olds enrolled in postsecondary education, at 42%. Though an estimated 98% of the adult population is literate, concern is rising over functional illiteracy. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Belgium's education as the 19th best in the world, being significantly higher than the OECD average. Highly politicized conflicts between freethought and Catholic segments of the population during the 1950s caused a split in educational organization. A secular branch of schooling is controlled by the Community, the province, or the municipality, while religious, mainly Catholic branch education, is organized by religious authorities, although subsidized and supervised by the Community. Religion See also: Religion in Belgium Since the country's independence, Roman Catholicism, counterbalanced by strong freethought movements, has had an important role in Belgium's politics. However Belgium is largely a secular country as the laicist constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right in practice. Nevertheless, the monarchy has a reputation of deeply-rooted Catholicism. In 1990, for instance, as a King constitutionally obliged to sign a law legalizing abortion after it had been passed by both chambers, Baudouin asked the then Christian-Democrat Prime Minister Wilfried Martens to find a way out, causing the Parliament to declare him 'temporarily unfit to reign', with his consent. On the yearly national holiday, the King and Queen and other members of the royal family officially attend Te Deum celebrations. Symbolically and materially, the Roman Catholic Church remains in a favourable position. Belgium's concept of 'recognized religions' set a path for Islam to follow to acquire the treatment of Jewish and Protestant religions. While other minority religions, such as Hinduism, do not yet have such status, Buddhism took the first steps toward legal recognition in 2007. According to the 2001 Survey and Study of Religion, about 47% of the population identify themselves as belonging to the Catholic Church, while Islam is the second-largest religion at 3.5%. A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, considered to be a more religious region than Wallonia, showed that 55% considered themselves religious, and that 36% believed that God created the world. According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 43% of Belgian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 29% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". There is also a tiny Hindu and Sikh population. While there are around 8,000 Hindus mostly near Antwerp, most Sikhs (around 10,000) are either in Vilvoorde or Sint-Truiden (see Sikhism in Belgium). Science and technology Gerardus MercatorContributions to the development of science and technology have appeared throughout the country's history. The sixteenth century Early Modern flourishing of Western Europe included cartographer Gerardus Mercator, anatomist Andreas Vesalius, herbalist Rembert Dodoens, and mathematician Simon Stevin among the most influential scientists. In the first half of the seventeenth century, the Walloon method of making bar iron found its way to Sweden where it remained in use for more than two hundred and sixty years. The quickly developed and dense Belgian railroad system caused major companies like La Brugeoise et Nivelles (now the BN division of Bombardier Transportation) to develop specific technologies, and the economically important very deep coal mining in the course of the First Industrial Revolution has required highly reputed specialized studies for mine engineers. The end of the nineteenth century and the twentieth saw important Belgian advances in applied and pure science. The chemist Ernest Solvay and the engineer Zenobe Gramme (École Industrielle de Liege) gave their names to the Solvay process and the Gramme dynamo, respectively, in the 1860s. Georges Lemaître (Université Catholique de Louvain) is credited with proposing the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe in 1927. Three Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine were awarded to Belgians: Jules Bordet (Université Libre de Bruxelles) in 1919, Corneille Heymans (Universiteit Gent) in 1938, and Albert Claude (Université Libre de Bruxelles) and Christian De Duve (Université Catholique de Louvain) in 1974. Ilya Prigogine (Université Libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977. Culture Main article: Culture of Belgium Belgian cultural life is concentrated within each language community, and a variety of barriers have made a shared cultural sphere less pronounced. There has been since the 1970s no bilingual universities except the Royal Military Academy, no common media, and no single large cultural or scientific organization in which both main communities are represented. Despite its political and linguistic divisions that have been strongly changing during the centuries, the region corresponding to today's Belgium has seen the flourishing of major artistic movements that have had tremendous influence on European art and culture. Fine arts See also: list of Flemish painters and list of Belgian painters The Tower of Babel (oil on board, c. 1563) by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum.Contributions to painting and architecture have been especially rich. The Mosan art, the Early Netherlandish, the Flemish Renaissance and Baroque painting, and major examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture are milestones in the history of art. Famous names in this classic tradition include the Flemish artists Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and, Pieter Brueghel the Elder as well as Lambert Lombard and Theodore de Bry from Liège. The historical artistic production of the Flemish before the early seventeenth century Baroque style of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck is often not distinguished from that of the Dutch nor of the Walloons. In the southern Netherlands it gradually declined thereafter, although high quality tapestry continued to be created until well into the eighteenth century. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries many original romantic, expressionist and surrealist Belgian painters emerged, including Egide Wappers, James Ensor, Constant Permeke and René Magritte. The avant-garde CoBrA movement appeared in the 1950s, while the sculptor Panamarenko remains a remarkable figure in contemporary art. The multidisciplinary artist Jan Fabre and the painter Luc Tuymans are other internationally renowned figures on the contemporary art scene. Belgian contributions to architecture also continued into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including the work of Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde, who were major initiators of the Art Nouveau style. The vocal music of the Franco-Flemish School developed in the southern part of the Low Countries and was an important contribution to Renaissance culture. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed the appearance of major violinists, such as Henri Vieuxtemps, Eugène Ysaÿe and Arthur Grumiaux, while Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone in 1846. The composer César Franck was born in Liège in 1822. Belgium has also produced music of contemporary note. The first Belgian singer to successfully pursue an international career is Bobbejaan Schoepen, pioneer of varieté and pop music. Jazz musician Toots Thielemans has achieved global fame, as have the singers Jacques Brel and Italy-born Adamo. In rock/pop music, Telex, Front 242, K's Choice, Hooverphonic, Zap Mama, Soulwax and dEUS are well known. Belgium has produced several well-known authors, including the poet Emile Verhaeren and novelists Hendrik Conscience, Georges Simenon, Suzanne Lilar and Amélie Nothomb. The poet and playwright Maurice Maeterlinck won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1911. The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé is the best known of Franco-Belgian comics, but many other major authors, including Peyo (The Smurfs), André Franquin, Edgar P. Jacobs, and Willy Vandersteen brought the Belgian cartoon strip industry on a par with the U.S.A. and Japan. Belgian cinema, often influenced by the Dutch or French, has brought a number of mainly Flemish novels to life on-screen. The absence of a major Belgian cinema company, however, has forced several talented directors to emigrate, such as Carl Colpaert or participate in low-budget productions such as Marc Didden's Brussels by Night (1983). Other Belgian directors include André Delvaux, Stijn Coninx, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne; well-known actors include Jan Decleir and Marie Gillain; and successful films include Man Bites Dog and The Alzheimer Affair. In the 1980s, Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts produced important fashion trendsetters, known as the Antwerp Six. Folklore The Gilles of Binche, in costume, wearing wax masksFolklore plays a major role in Belgium's cultural life: the country has a comparatively high number of processions, cavalcades, parades, 'ommegangs' and 'ducasses', 'kermesse', and other local festivals, nearly always with an originally religious background. The Carnival of Binche with its famous Gilles, and the 'Processional Giants and Dragons' of Ath, Brussels, Dendermonde, Mechelen and Mons are recognized by UNESCO as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Other examples are the Carnival of Aalst; the still very religious processions of the Holy Blood in Bruges, Virga Jesse in Hasselt, and Hanswijk in Mechelen; the August 15 festival in Liège; and the Walloon festival in Namur. Originated in 1832 and revived in the 1960s, the Gentse Feesten have become a modern tradition. A major non-official holiday is the Saint Nicholas Day, a festivity for children and, in Liège, for students. Sports Football (soccer) and cycling are especially popular amongst Belgians. Belgian keeper Jean-Marie Pfaff is considered one of the greatest goalkeepers (soccer) ever.[citation needed] Belgian Eddy Merckx is widely considered the greatest cyclist ever, given five victories of the Tour de France and numerous other bicycle races records; his hour speed record set in 1972 stood for twelve years. Belgium has produced two female tennis champions who repeatedly ranked number one of the world, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, and numerous other award-winning athletes. The Spa-Francorchamps motor-racing circuit hosts the Formula One World Championship Belgian Grand Prix. The Belgian driver Jacky Ickx won eight Grands Prix and six 24 Hours of Le Mans, and twice finished as runner-up in the Formula One World Championship. Thierry Boutsen also won three races in 1989 and 1990. Belgium also has a strong reputation in motocross; world champions include Roger De Coster, Joël Robert, Georges Jobé, Eric Geboers, Joël Smets and Stefan Everts. The 1920 Summer Olympics were held in Antwerp, Belgium. Belgium has played a major part in the promotion and development of Duathlon. More specifically Benny Vansteelant has made a lasting legacy conquering a stunning 8 World Champion titles and 5 European Champion titles. Cuisine Belgium is well known for its cuisine. Many highly ranked restaurants can be found in the high-impact gastronomic guides, such as the Michelin Guide. Belgian food is, like the country itself, a mix of Germanic and Latin influences. Belgians have a reputation for loving waffles and French fries; contrary to the name of the latter, both dishes originated in Belgium. The national dishes are steak-frites with salad, and moules-frites (mussels with frites). A challenge for a television program caused no less than 307 different local or regional dishes to be presented on a 118-metre long table in Tivoli Park in Mechelen on 1 September 2007. Brands of Belgian chocolate and pralines, like Callebaut, Côte d'Or, Neuhaus, Leonidas, Guylian and Godiva, are world renowned and widely sold. Belgium produces over 500 varieties of beer. The biggest brewer in the world by volume is InBev based in Belgium. |
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